The Many Faces of Opting Out: An Email Makeover - Marketing Watchdog Journal

	\| Contact Us \| Bulldog Europe

\| Return to MWJ Home
		September 2008, Issue 55

BtoB E-mail Marketing
The Many Faces of Opting Out: An Email Makeover
By Jeanniey Mullen, Founder and Executive Chairwoman, Email Experience Council; and EVP and CMO, Zinio and VIVmag

How to Get the Lowest Unsubscribe Rate Around

Many people ask me for advice about email marketing. The questions these days range from "How can I get my boss to give me more budget so I can hire some help?" to "Should I design in text or HTML for a BtoB business audience?" And then there's the ubiquitous, "What should my open rate be?" Lately though, I've realized that no one has asked me about what their average unsubscribe rate should be. This got me wondering: Have people solved the problem of unsubscribing? Or, do email marketers just not care anymore?

Don't Be Fooled by Your Decreasing Unsubscribe Rate

About five years ago, your list's unsubscribe rate was really a bragging point. If you were able to keep less than 2% of your list from opting out, you were a master at retention and engagement. That all changed, however, when spam filters became mainstream email management tools. Soon, unsubscribe rates saw a dramatic decrease, often getting as low as a consistent 0.8-1.0%. While email marketers initially thought they solved their challenge of building relationships, they soon came to realize that their email message may not have even been seen, let alone given the reader a chance to click through.

The Many Faces of Opting Out

In today's world, where an estimated 30% of the email messages you send to your double opt-in file never make it to the inbox, email marketers face a much different battle for unsubscribers. Today, it is much less a battle about stopping people from opting out. Instead, it is a battle of asking people to opt-out in the right manner. Recent statistics from some research I have done indicate that there are five different ways a recipient of email can block your message from being received if they no longer want to hear from your company. These include:

Spam blocks from the ISP or corporate firewall system (e.g., Postini)
Personal email firewalls or filters (e.g., ChoiceMail)
In-box rules (e.g.,. If subject line says "Fish," move to deleted)
In-email client spam buttons (e.g., Yahoo! This is Spam)
The unsubscribe link in your email

Out of all five of these indicators for not wanting to receive your email, only one is identifiable and actionable by your company. This means that you should assume that you are only aware of one out of every five people who think your email is not valuable enough to read. And these statistics ignore the population of people who simply provide a secondary email address to opt-in, receive your emails, but never open them, EVER.

While your email statistics may show a trend in reduced unsubscribe rates, the truth is, you don't really have the lowest opt-out rate in town. You actually may have a consumer engagement problem that you are not aware of. Sadly, there is not a quick fix for this current reality in email.

A New Approach to an Internet-Age-Old Problem

For this reason, as a responsible email marketer, I urge you to begin looking at your email campaigns in a bit of a different light. First, check your click to open rate. No, not the open rate, the click to open rate. This is the number of clicks you received divided by the number of emails opened. If the percentage is less than 25% you have a problem! This means your content is not driving continued engagement and your unsubscribes could be much higher than you think.

Second, create a re-engagement campaign that runs for 90 days to clean out your file. People who sign up for your emails, and fall victim to the automatic spam filter placement (and never see your email) don't assume their spam filter is keeping your content away, they assume your company is not sending email. This doesn't mean that they will be happy to receive your email when it finally shows up; in fact, they will most likely be mad or confused. They haven't heard from you in weeks and months, and here you are with a special offer flashing in their face. These types of messages don't make the right impact.

You need to tread carefully. Create a list of people who you have sent messages to for three to six months and from whom you have had no opens. Then, instead of your basic message, send a very simple email asking them to confirm they want to receive your emails. It's okay to tell them that you haven't heard from them and weren't sure if the message was making it through, or if they have just lost interest. Give the readers an easy way to opt out. Then, send a similar message in the second and third month if there is still no response. This method will help you see what percentage of your readers may be intentionally (or unintentionally) blocking you, and what percentage respond. Finally, you will be able to set a benchmark of receipt and readership in the company that will paint a much clearer picture of your opt-out or unsubscribe rate.

Knowing these statistics are key. They enable you to ascertain a true cost per name/subscriber, and a more accurate ROI. It's these ways of adapting our thinking that will help keep the best email marketers on top of their game.

Return to MWJ Home

Jeanniey Mullen is the Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Zinio, the global leader for digital publishing products and services. She holds the same position for VIV Magazine, the first fully interactive and all digital lifestyle magazine for women. An accomplished expert in the email and online marketing world, Jeanniey is recognized as a pioneer and visionary, advocating for, and driving change that redefines the impact of various marketing channels. Prior to Zinio and VIV, Jeanniey was the Senior Partner and Global Executive Director of the Email Marketing and Digital Dialogue Practice at OgilvyOne Worldwide. In 2005, Jeanniey founded the Email Experience Council, and currently maintains her role as its Executive Director.

Marketing Watchdog Journal is a monthly newsletter from Bulldog Solutions, a lead optimization and lead management company dedicated to helping our clients generate more, better leads and turn them into revenue. We welcome your feedback on this newsletter's content and design, and encourage you to share your ideas for topics you would like us to cover in future issues. Please send your comments or questions about Bulldog Solutions to Amy Bills, senior manager of Field Marketing.